Written Answers Friday 16 November 2007

Scottish Executive

Child Welfare

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for how long each of the 32 people provisionally listed on the Disqualified from Working with Children List have been so listed.

Adam Ingram: On 12 November 2007, there were 30 individuals provisionally listed on the Disqualified from Working with Children List (DWCL). This includes three individuals who are each provisionally listed for two different incidents thus making 33 provisional listings. In these cases the determination panel would normally consider together the referrals for the incidents. The following table shows the periods of provisional listing.

  

 Length of Time Provisionally Included
 Number of Provisional Listings


 1 month or less
 3


 Between 2 and 4 months
 8


 Between 5 and 6 months
 6


 More than 6 months and less than 1 year
 3


 1 year or more
 13


 Total Provisional Listings
 33



  Provisional listing is usually for no more than six months. There are on-going legal or disciplinary proceedings in relation to those sixteen individuals currently provisionally listed for over six months. The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 allows for a period of six months to start from the date on which these legal or disciplinary proceedings are finally determined. Whilst these other proceedings are on-going the individual is still provisionally listed. In the interests of fairness to the individual, the determination panel usually awaits the outcome of the legal or disciplinary proceedings before making a decision on whether or not to list.

Child Welfare

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for how long 10 former employees from Kerelaw school have been on the provisional Disqualified from Working with Children List and how long it will be before their case is considered.

Adam Ingram: On 12 November 2007 there were 11 former employees of Kerelaw school and secure unit provisionally listed in the Disqualified from Working with Children List (DWCL).

  Two individuals were provisionally listed towards the end of 2005, five in 2006 and four during 2007.

  Provisional listing is usually for no more than six months. However, the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 allows for extending the six month period in certain circumstances. These include on-going legal or disciplinary proceedings in relation to the referred incident. The proceedings usually relate to Employment Tribunals; investigations by regulatory bodies such as the General Teaching Council for Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council; or criminal proceedings.

  There are on-going proceedings in relation to 10 of the 11 Kerelaw workers provisionally listed in the DWCL. In the interests of fairness to the individuals, a determination panel decision will be deferred to allow the legal or disciplinary proceedings to be finally concluded.

  The referral for the eleventh individual is at the information gathering phase of the DWCL process, including inviting observations from the referred individual. The determination panel will consider the case once all information is available.

Child Welfare

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its view is of operating a provisional Disqualified from Working with Children List.

Adam Ingram: Our view is that provisional inclusion in the Disqualified from Working with Children List (DWCL) is necessary where the criteria for provisional listing are met.

  Once a referral is received from an organisation such as the individual’s former employer, the individual will be provisionally listed if the criteria set out in the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act (the 2003 act) are met. The criteria are that the reference is not vexatious or frivolous and that it may be appropriate for the individual to be included in the list. It is neither feasible nor reasonable to reach a major decision about listing the individual on receipt of a referral, without a provisional listing stage.

  For a number of reasons provisional listing in the Disqualified from Working with Children List is a necessary part of the referral process:

  (i) It alerts any current and prospective employers about initial concerns relating to harm or risk of harm to a child;

  (ii) It allows for all relevant information to be gathered from interested parties such as the police, regulatory bodies and local authorities. Equally, it allows the individual to provide written observations on the referral and any clarifications sought from the referring organisation before provisional listing and for the individual and referring organisation to consider all of each other’s observations, and

  (iii) Some individuals are fully listed by the panel and are therefore considered unsuitable to work with children. Without the provisional listing stage, the panel might not have had sufficient information on which to base a decision and thus prevent the individuals from working with children. Some individuals are not fully listed by the panel and the cases are dismissed. The provisional listing stage is instrumental in helping the panel reach this decision.

  To help protect children during this phase, every effort is made to keep the provisional listing period to a minimum.

  A six month limit on an individual’s provisional listing and extensions to this period where necessary is we believe the right approach. The Scottish Parliament accepted the same period for an individual to be "considered for listing" under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 which will repeal the 2003 act.

Child Welfare

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the use of the provisional element of the Disqualified from Working with Children List, given that people who are provisionally listed are still able to work with children.

Adam Ingram: We do not have plans to review provisional listing in the Disqualified from Working with Children List (DWCL).

  Individuals can work in child care positions during provisional listing although we know of very few who are working as such. Provisional listing flags up to employers a potential concern. There are a range of options available to employers to manage the situation of an individual working whilst provisionally listed appropriately and safely. We will be supplementing our existing guidance on the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 by issuing further guidance on options for management of the situation. However, the employer is best placed to know the particular circumstances of the employment and the individual and to decide on action such as suspension, enhanced supervision, discontinuing any one-to-one contact and so on.

Class Sizes

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Dumfries and Galloway Council has advised Scottish ministers of its estimates of the funding it will require to reduce class sizes in primary 1 to primary 3 to a maximum of 18 and, if so, what these estimates are.

Maureen Watt: No, we are unaware of any representations made by Dumfries and Galloway Council in this regard. However, On 20 June 2007 we announced the provision of £9 million additional funding to allow local authorities to employ 300 additional teachers in pre-school and primary 1 to 3 in deprived areas. Dumfries and Galloway Council’s share of this funding is £263,700. In addition, on 10 July we announced the allocation of an additional £40 million of capital grant funding through the Schools Fund linked to the buildings implications of reducing class sizes. Dumfries and Galloway Council’s share was £3.607 million, the largest share of all Scottish authorities.

Council Tax

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-5251 by John Swinney on 30 October 2007, whether Dumfries and Galloway Council has advised Scottish ministers of its estimates of the funding it will require to enable it to freeze council tax in 2008-09 and 2009-10 and, if so, what these estimates are.

John Swinney: Dumfries and Galloway Council did share with me their emerging budget calculations when we met on 2 October. Following my Spending Review announcement on 14 November, I will be announcing individual local authority funding allocations for the next three years in mid-December. In advance of that announcement, it would be premature to speculate on the budgetary decisions of individual councils. But I firmly believe the funding package we provide will be sufficient to enable all councils to freeze their council tax rates.

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what income was obtained as a result of assets being recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 from criminals who were convicted of offences related to drug dealing in the Grampian area in the first six months of the 2007-08 financial year.

Frank Mulholland QC: There have been no confiscation orders made relating to drug-related offences in the Grampian area in the first six months of the 2007-08 financial year.

Sport

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what sporting events have been attended by the Minister for Communities and Sport since May 2007.

Stewart Maxwell: I have attended the following sporting events since May 2007:

  

 Date
 Event


 26 May
 Scottish Cup Final (Football) 


 3 June
 International Rugby Board 7’s Tournament


 3 June
 Scottish Rowing and Scottish Schools Rowing Championships (Strathclyde Country Park)


 12 June
 World Mixed Badminton Championships


 16 June
 Norwich Union Grand Prix Athletics Event (Scotstoun)


 22 July
 British Open (Golf) 


 4 August
 Women’s Open (Golf) 


 25 August
 Scotland v South Africa (Rugby International)


 3 September
 Mountain Bike Trials and World Championships  (Fort William)


 8 September
 Scotland V Lithuania (Football International)


 18 September
 Scotland V Romania (Rugby International)


 19 September
 Rangers FC V Stuggart FC  (Football Champions League)


 23 September
 Scotland V New Zealand (Rugby International)


 13 October
 Scotland V Ukraine (Football International)